Title: 🌐 1.3. Do You Know What the Internet Is and How It Works?
Course: "Our networks, our security" Digital Security with a Gender Perspective > Section: Our internet, Our Rights: Basic Concepts

Although the various technologies underlying the Internet have evolved rapidly since its inception in the 1960s, the core of its operation has slightly changed.

The term "internet" is an abbreviation of "interconnected network." It refers to how computers and other devices stay connected, forming a global system of thousands of networks linked through various technologies. It works like a vast digital highway system, enabling devices such as phones, laptops, and smart TVs to communicate.

The Internet has two main components:

Network Infraestructure (the Physical Side)

This includes all the hardware and the physical connections that make the Internet possible. Some examples are: end-user devices, routers & modems,  servers & data centers, and cables & fiber optics, satellites & wireless networks:
Click 👉 here to download the information about network infrastructure in plain text.

Protocols and Services

The internet works because of agreed-upon rules (protocols) that allow devices to communicate. Examples:

- IP (Internet Protocol): Assigns addresses to devices.
- DNS (Domain Name System): Translates website names into IP addresses.
- HTTP/HTTPS: Used to load websites.
- Email & Cloud Services: Enable communication and storage.

In simple terms, the network infrastructure is like the roads and highways, while the protocols and services are the traffic rules and navigation system that ensure data gets where it needs to go! 🚀

IMAGEN

Click 👉here to download the infographic on: How does your information travel when you browse the internet? In plain text.

Here are some resources that have helped me better understand how the internet works:

- How Does the Internet Work? (Vox)
- A short history of the internet (The National Science and Media Museum)

- How the internet works (European Digital Rigths)

- How Does the Internet Work: A Step-by-Step Pictorial by HP